Those learning Thai reading and writing usually find Thai vowels quite tricky, especially when some vowels change their form depending on their position in a word. These are called “Form-Changing Vowels” (สระเปลี่ยนรูป – sà-rà bplìian-rûup). Don’t worry if you’re struggling with them; you’re not alone!
In this guide, we’ll explain what you need to know about form-changing vowels in Thai, including key rules, step-by-step usage, and practice tips. Let’s dive in!
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🤔 What are Form-Changing Vowels (สระเปลี่ยนรูป)?
Form-changing vowels are Thai vowels that look different when written with certain consonants. Unlike standard vowels, which always appear in the same position (before, after, above, or below a consonant), they change shape based on their surrounding letters.
These changes help Thai writing stay compact and readable, but they can be confusing for learners.
Let’s clarify the rules!
🧠 Key Rules and Concepts You Need to Know
You may have noticed that Thai vowels have many characteristics that are different from those of other languages, especially in “writing”. Some of these unique characteristics include:
- Written around consonants
- Single letters or vowel clusters
- Short and long vowels
- Change its form under certain circumstances
Thai words are formed by combining an initial (or beginning) consonant with the vowel. This directly affects the tone we pronounce that word.
Whether the word is monosyllable or multi-syllable, it may also have an ending consonant. The ending consonant, however, affects not only the way we write the word, but also the tone we pronounce it.
The Thai vowels can be categorized into 3 groups according to the way they are written in a word, namely
- Non-Form Changing Vowels (สระคงรูป – sà-rà kong-rûup) – As the name suggests, their form remains unchanged when writing.
For example:
The vowel -ี /ii/ is always put above the initial consonant, as in ดี /dii/ (= good), มี /mii/ (= to have), or จีน /่jiin/ (= China, Chinese)
The vowel เ-ือ /eeua/ is always written with เ in front, -ื above, and อ after the initial consonant, as in เรือ /reeua/ (= boat)
- Form-Changing Vowel (สระเปลี่ยนรูป – sà-rà bplìian-rûup) – The vowel form changes when the word has an ending consonant
For example:
When there is an ending consonant, the vowel -ะ changes the form to write with -ั over the initial consonant, as in ก + ะ + บ = กับ /gàp/ (with)
- Inherent (Reduced) Vowel (สระลดรูป – sà-rà lód-rûup) – The vowel form disappears (or partly disappears) when the word has an ending consonant
For example:
When there is an ending consonant, the vowel โ-ะ entirely disappears, as in น + โ-ะ + ก = นก /nók/ (= bird)
In this blog, we will focus on the second type of vowels, which change form when there is an ending consonant – or “Form-Changing Vowels“.
👣 Step-by-Step Guide to Identifying Form-Changing Vowels (สระเปลี่ยนรูป)
Below are steps to help you identify the form-changing vowels in Thai:
1️⃣ Step 1: Identify the Vowel
Look at the vowel in its “full (normal) form“ first (i.e., –ะ /-a/, เ–ะ /-e/, เเ–ะ /-ae/, เ–อ /-eeu/).
2️⃣ Step 2: Check for a Final Consonant
If the syllable ends with a consonant, the vowel may change:
– “–ะ” → “◌ั ” (e.g., “กัน” /gan/ instead of “กะน”).
– ” เ–ะ ” → ” เ–็ ” (e.g., “เด็ก” /dèk/ instead of “เดะก”).
3️⃣ Step 3: Adjust the Vowel Position
Some vowels change its form, or a part of its form, and move above the consonant:
🚨Vowel “–ะ” becomes a small mark above “◌ั ” the initial consonant.
For example:
- ก + –ะ + น becomes “กัน” /gan/
- จ + –ะ + ด becomes “จัด” /jàd/
- ป + –ะ + ก becomes “ปัก” /bpàk/
🚨Vowel ” เ–ะ ” becomes a small mark above ” เ–็ ” the initial consonant.
For example:
- ด + เ–ะ + ก becomes “เด็ก” /dèk/
- จ + เ–ะ + ด becomes “เจ็ด” /jèd/
- ม + เ–ะ + ด becomes “เม็ด” /méd/
🚨Vowel ” แ–ะ ” becomes a small mark above ” แ–็ ” the initial consonant.
For example:
- ข + แ–ะ + ง becomes “แข็ง” /kǎeng/
- ฮ + แ–ะ + ก becomes “แฮ็ก” /háek/
- ม + แ–ะ + ก becomes “แม็ก” /máek/
🚨Vowel ” เ–อ ” becomes a small mark above ” เ–ิ ” the initial consonant.
📌 NOTE: This applies to other ending consonants, except for the consonat “ย”
For example:
- ด + เ–อ + น becomes “เดิน” /deeun/
- ช + เ–อ + ญ becomes “เชิญ” /cheeun/
- ก + เ–อ + ด becomes “เกิด” /gèeud/
4️⃣ Step 4: Practice with Real Words
Here is how you can practice writing and reading Thai words with the form-changing vowels:
🇹🇭 Start with Simple Words – Write each word multiple times and say it out loud as you write.
🇹🇭 Focus on One Vowel at a Time – You can work on one vowel first, such as the vowel “-ะ” and find the words that use it. You will see how it changes based on the ending consonant it pairs with.
🇹🇭 Highlight the Vowels – When reading words, mark the vowels with a colored pencil or highlighter to visually focus on them while you learn how they interact with consonants.
🇹🇭 Use Vocabulary Lists – Take beginner-friendly word lists and look for those including form-changing vowels. Practice writing each word several times to get yourself familiar with their patterns.
🇹🇭 Practice with Sound – Listen to how the words are pronounced in apps or videos. Then write down what you hear to check if your written vowels match the correct spelling of the words.
🧊 Summary
Thai form-changing vowels, สระเปลี่ยนรูป /sá-rá bplíian rûup/, present a unique challenge for learners when they change their written form with the presence of the ending consonant.
You can find below the summarized vowels with some examples:
Understanding key rules governing these transformations is crucial for accurate reading and writing, thus enabling the learners to improve their Thai language proficiency.
You may wish to check out the following about Thai scripts, reading Thai, or writing Thai:
✍️ Blog: Challenges to learn Thai scripts and ways to overcome them
🎞️ Youtube: Read & Write Thai Tutorial: เนย (สระเอ หรือ สระเออ?)
But if you want to learn how to read and write Thai scripts systematically, step-by-steply, we encourage you to check out our BananaThai’s Ultimate Thai Reading course.
The course is an ultimate guide to helping you master Thai reading effortlessly. We simplified complicated Thai rules to six easy-to-follow chapters with thirty lessons.
📞 Contact our team or book a private Thai lesson at lesson@bananathaischool.com. We are happy to help you get started easily.